With the rise in popularity of the carry-around cassette tape recorders and portable radios with their connecting headset earphones, it has been discovered that ear damage is now beginning to manifest itself in the habitual wearers of the headset apparatus. Numerous articles have appeared in the medical journals, especially in those countries that have rather large populations utilizing these headsets, as well as in the popular news magazine generally directed to the public.
The cases first appearing indicating the impairment of hearing resulting in reports in the journals and magazines show that it is common practice for the wearers of the headsets to adjust the sound at rather high levels, and in many cases to wear the headset for extended periods of time.
It is believed that the damage is caused in large part by the directing of the sound waves straight into the ear canal by the speakers of the headsets. In normal hearing, very little sound enters the ear canal straight-on, but rather is first received by the folds of skin of the outer ear and thereby directed into the ear canal. The large surface of the outer ear, in relationship to the size of the opening of the ear canal, tends to concentrate the sound for better hearing and the outer ear's skin folds are very functional in that regard.
However, the normal function of the folds of skin of the outer ear are obviated when the loud speaker of the headset is situated right at the entrance to the ear canal such as is the common construction of the headset.
It is to the end of deflecting the sounds from a headset speaker first to the folds of the outer ear for eventual reflection to the ear canal that the subject invention is directed.